Attorney-General George Brandis has defended the right of Australians to be ''bigots''.

Speaking in the Senate on Monday, Senator Brandis made the case for controversial changes to race hate laws, which News Corp columnist Andrew Bolt was in 2011 found to have breached in relation to two articles he wrote about fair-skinned aborigines.

Senator George Brandis said the problem with the current law was that it dealt with racial vilification in ‘‘the wrong way’’ by ‘‘political censorship’’. Photo: Andrew Meares

The Coalition promised before the 2013 election to repeal section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act ''in its current form'', but indigenous Liberal MP Ken Wyatt has threatened to cross the floor to oppose the change.

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Senator Brandis told the Senate on Monday he would soon be bringing forward an amendment that would ensure the Bolt case would never be repeated.

''Never again in Australia will we have a situation in which a person may be taken to court for expressing a political opinion,'' Senator Brandis said in response to a question from indigenous Labor Senator Nova Peris.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott was asked about the Attorney-General's comments in question time on Monday. Photo: Andrew Meares

Senator Brandis said the problem with the current law was that it dealt with racial vilification in ''the wrong way'' by ''political censorship''.

''People do have a right to be bigots, you know,'' Senator Brandis said.

"People have the right to say things that other people would find insulting, offensive or bigoted."

Illustration: Cathy Wilcox

Asked in the House of Representatives about Senator Brandis' comments, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said it was ''in the nature of free speech that sometimes some people will not like it''.

''I don't like what members opposite say ... [but] I fully accept their right to say it,'' Mr Abbott said.

Manager of opposition business Tony Burke questioned the relevance of Mr Abbott comparing Labor's language in question time to bigotry.

The Prime Minister said on the question of changing the Racial Discrimination Act, the government would do exactly what it promised to do before the election.

''We will repeal section 18c in its current form," Mr Abbott said. ''This is a government that keeps its commitments and that was a clear commitment that we made.''

Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus said Labor was deeply concerned about the changes the government had planned for section 18C.

''Tony Abbott and Senator Brandis have shown they're not prepared to listen to community groups, experts, or their own MPs, who vigorously oppose the watering down of legal protections against racism,'' he said.

''The government should leave section 18C exactly as it is. It has served our community well for almost 20 years.''

Senator Peris said the Senator Brandis' comments were ''disgusting."

“They are a green light to racism and all other sorts of hate speech.”

“What sort of message does this send to young Australians at a time when we are trying to stop bullying?

“This is an admission that the Attorney General’s changes to the Racial Discrimination Act will allow for unabated bigotry.”

52 comments

Good for you, George. You have a mandate from the people of Australia to repeal 18C - so do it. Some on the extreme left won't like it; but who cares what the thought police like.

Commenter

Jack Richards

Location

Snowy Mountains

Date and time

March 24, 2014, 4:03PM

+1

Commenter

MrRightous

Date and time

March 24, 2014, 4:16PM

They don't have a mandate for anything. An election isn't a vote on 100% support for every little issue they think exists.

Commenter

Daniel

Location

Vegas

Date and time

March 24, 2014, 4:18PM

@Jack.

It wasn't one of his major policies at the election, so why do you think he have a mandate to do it?

According to you, only the extreme left are against racism. That is a depressing thought.

All this effort just to protect poor Bolt, the ultimate crusader for freedom of speech, who only this week accused one of his victims of slander against him. Hypocrite.

Commenter

Guybrush Threepwood

Location

Brisbane

Date and time

March 24, 2014, 4:20PM

It would therefore seem that the LNP has itself been infiltrated by these extreme lefties who opposed their own party's policy. Better Dead than Red. I hear you, all the way from the 1950s.

Commenter

St Kilda

Date and time

March 24, 2014, 4:22PM

Why the focus on 18C and not defamation? It seems crazy that people like Brandis want to make it OK for people to insult others based on their race or the colour of their skin, but are happy for it to remain illegal to be called a racist. Are Andrew Bolt's tears when it was implied that he was a racist any more real than an Aboriginal woman's tears when it was implied that she was not a real Aboriginal? In both cases, you are protected from prosecution if what you say is true so I don't see the a problem. Is it really asking too much for Andrew Bolt to do some basic research before insulting someone's deeply held racial identity? I really don't think so.

Commenter

Dags

Date and time

March 24, 2014, 4:23PM

Oh @Jack Richards. You don't need to be "extreme", nor even "left", to dislike bigotry. You just need to be a decent human.

Commenter

AJ

Location

Sydney

Date and time

March 24, 2014, 4:23PM

@Jack Richards:Good on you George, you say? I have a distinct feeling that with friends like George Brandis, Tony Abbott will not need enemies. The Attorney General stating in the Senate that people have a right to be bigots is breathtaking coming from Australia's top law officer. Legally right, morally wrong.

Commenter

JohnC

Location

Gosford NSW

Date and time

March 24, 2014, 4:29PM

Who gets to decide on what is racial? Government legislation is not the answer. Andrew Bolt was making a point about at what stage or lineage does indigenous fade into multi cultural australian. Is it that 3 generations ago some relative was indigenous that entitles you extra benefits beyond any other australian?.Valid journalistic article piece, certainly not racial vilification as the silly law said.

Commenter

GC_Resident

Date and time

March 24, 2014, 4:32PM

I hate to tell ya Jack, but it isn't just the extreme left.

Do you think an employer should have the right to continually call an employee by racist names? Do you think employees should have the right to continually make derogatory remarks about a co-worker's race?

Do you want to live in a society where that sort of rubbish is acceptable?

Apparently you do.

The problem is not the extreme left, it's people like you that don't have a clue about the impact of repealing 18C.